


pull your-elf together

by EmmyLouWho



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Christmas, Cute Kids, Fluff, M/M, Misunderstandings, Pining, Santa's Elves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2018-12-11
Packaged: 2019-09-06 06:27:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16826998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmmyLouWho/pseuds/EmmyLouWho
Summary: Louis looks Harry up and down. “Hang on, aren't you a bit tall to be an elf?”“Alright, Princess Leia,” Harry says, and Niall loses it. “Ohhhhhh,” he says. “Harry, we are definitely going to be good friends.”Or: Santa's Winter Wonderland is a great place to fall in love.





	pull your-elf together

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! 
> 
> This was written for the Larry Holiday Fest 2018. Thank you to the lovely mod for all your hard work :)

❅🎅🏻❅

Harry sighed as he pulled up his stripy tights for what felt like the thousandth time. They immediately drooped back down, waistband sitting loosely around his hips, and he finally gave in and deemed them a lost cause. The tights were a size too big around the waist, and there was a good two inched of Harry’s ankle showing between the red and green striped hem and his regulation sparkly elf booties. There wasn’t much to be done about that now, Harry supposed. 

The elf costume had actually been made to fit his cousin, Alex, who just two days ago had decided that he would much rather go backpacking around Asia this December with his new girlfriend than stay in wintry England and work at the Santa’s Winter Wonderland at the local shopping centre. Alex had begged Harry to fill in form him, and Harry, who was facing an empty schedule over the Christmas break and a very sad looking bank account, didn’t take much convincing. 

Had he known about the uniform situation, though, he might have had second thoughts. Harry was not above looking ridiculous - some of his friends would probably even argue that he looked ridiculous every day - but at nearly six foot tall, Harry was at least a head taller than all of the other “elves.” In fact, there had been a height requirement in the job posting, something Alex had conveniently failed to mention, and which Harry had only realised when he had turned up to the mandatory training session yesterday feeling like an actual giant. 

The only reason the manager of had even let him keep the job was that it was too late to hire anyone else. Harry had been offered a pair of extra long socks to cover the awkward gap between his tights and his shoes, and was told to try his best to “appear smaller.” 

He’d stood in front of the bathroom mirror last night, trying to practice being smaller, but slouching had just make him look like a hunchback, and he decided that that was much worse than being a freakishly tall elf. He’d just tell the kids that he ate all of his vegetables, or something. 

“Alright, everybody,” the manager calls. “Time to get out there and make some magic! The shopping centre opens in ten minutes, and we need to be ready for all the kids and their parents who are ready to meet Santa.” 

Harry takes a deep breath, and follows the other elves through the shopping centre. There’s a big area in the middle of the centre that’s been cordoned off with red tinsel ropes and a fake candy cane fence. A large archway proclaiming “Santa’s Winter Wonderland!” is at the entrance, and beyond that Harry can see the large red chair that Santa will be sitting in, with the camera equipment set up in front of it. 

Harry’s already been told that he’ll be working in the photo department, either taking the photos of the kids sitting with Santa, or working at the cash register, selling souvenir prints to the families. 

Everyone takes up their assigned positions, and Harry fiddles around with the Canon that’s sitting on the tripod, taking some test shots to make sure it’s all set up and ready to go. 

A face suddenly appears in front of the viewfinder, making Harry jump. He pulls back from the camera to see one of the other elves standing in front of him, cackling. He’s got short brown hair sticking out from under his elf hat, and Harry vaguely remembers him from the training session. 

“Sorry mate,” the boy says. “Couldn’t resist. I’m Niall, I’ll be acting as your assistant today, making sure the kids are all looking at the camera and all that.” 

“Elf-sisstant,” Harry says to himself, but Niall must hear him because he starts to laugh again. 

“I’m Harry,” he says, suddenly remembering his manners. 

“Nice to meet you,” Niall says, clapping him on the back “I think we’ll get along just fine.” 

“Do you know who else will be working with us?” Harry asks. “Someone should be on the register, right?” 

“Oh, Lou should be here too,” Niall says. “I haven’t seen him yet though - oh, hang on, speak of the devil!” He waves enthusiastically at another guy who’s walking towards them, bells on his costume jingling as he does. 

“Hey, Tommo!” Niall says, greeting him with a hug. 

“Nialler,” the boy - Lou? Tommo? - says, grinning at Niall, and patting him on the back. 

Harry can't help noticing how cute he looks in his uniform. The elf outfit, which should absolutely not be flattering, somehow really looks good on this guy. The jacket defines his waist, and the tights hug his thighs really nicely. Harry feels like a creep for checking out his new co-worker, but he’s only human, he can't help seeing what’s right in front of him. He has adorable fake freckles painted onto his cheeks, too, and a soft looking fringe that swoops across his forehead underneath his green hat. 

“Harry?” he hears Niall call out, waving his hand in front of his face, and he suddenly snaps back into reality, cheeks going pink with embarrassment. 

“Sorry,” he says, “I zoned out for a second there. I’m Harry Styles,” he says, holding out his hand to shake. 

“Louis Tomlinson,” Louis says. “Nice to meet you, mate.” He looks Harry up and down. “Hang on, aren't you a bit tall to be an elf?” 

“Alright, Princess Leia,” Harry says, and Niall loses it. “Ohhhhhh,” he says. “Harry, we are definitely going to be good friends.” 

Harry quickly explains how it was actually his cousin who was supposed to be working here, but Harry had filled his place when he bailed at the last minute. 

“Do you two already know each other, then?” he asks, and Louis nods, wrapping one arm around Niall’s shoulders. 

“Tommo and I go to uni together,” Niall explains. 

“Yeah, Nialler convinced me that we should apply for this job,” Louis says. “I only agreed when I found out that I could bring my siblings here to get their photo taken for free. They beg to get it done every year, but we can never afford to, because the prices for the photo packages are ridiculous. But now this year, I’ll be able to surprise them!” 

“Aww, that’s so nice of you,” Harry says. He thinks he can actually feel his heart turning into mush. Cute and kind? Louis is basically Harry’s dream boy. 

“Meanwhile I just wanted to save up some money for a new Playstation,” Niall says. “Louis’ making me look like a selfish prick by comparison.” 

“An _elf_ -ish prick, you might say,” Harry suggests, slow grin spreading across his face. 

“Oh no,” Louis says, groaning even as Niall cackles and slaps his own knee. “I bet you’ve got loads more of those in that brain of yours, don’t you, Curly? You probably stayed up all night making a list.”

Harry shrugs. “I might. I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.” 

“Well,” Niall says, “If you two are quite finished, I think Santa’s Winter Wonderland is just about to officially open for business.” 

They all look over, and there are a couple of families heading towards the queue, small children bouncing excitedly as they see all the tinsel and fake snow.

“Prepare your- _elves_ ,” Harry says, “I think it’s going to be a long day.” 

❅🎅🏻❅

Long is an understatement. Despite how soft and comfy they look, Harry can’t wait to take off his elf booties at the end of the day. His feet are killing him. 

It had been mentally draining too, staying in character all day, making sure to be super Christmassy and to stay on script. 

Luckily it had been really fun too, or Harry’s not sure that he’d be able to keep doing this for the rest of the month. Niall and Louis were both great to work with, and despite his best attempts to keep his ridiculous crush on Louis suppressed, watching Louis interact with the kids all day had just served to make him even more attracted to him. Louis was so sweet with them all, coaxing the shy ones to smile, and prompting the more confident ones to have a good chat to Santa. 

Considering that Louis was actually supposed to just be running the register, it was even more impressive. Niall hadn't seemed surprised, just handing Louis one of the rattles that they used to wave behind the cameras to get the babies’ attention, and let him join in. 

“Lou’s the baby whisperer,” he had told Harry. “I like to think I’m quite good with kids, myself, but Louis is on another level. Kids just adore him.” 

And they weren’t the only ones. Harry couldn’t wait to get to know Louis better over the next few weeks, but it was day one and he already felt like Louis was the sun, and everyone else in the room was just orbiting around him. There was certainly something special about him. 

❅🎅🏻❅

“Big smile!” Harry says, “Everyone looking right at me!” 

He snaps another photo, and pulls back to check the playback on the little screen. 

“Wonderful,” he says, smiling at the two twin girls that are currently sitting next to Santa. “I’m all done, you girls can go see my friend Louis to have a look at your photos with Santa and get a copy to take home with you, if you’d like.” 

“Thank you,” the girls’ mum says to Harry. “Come on, girls, say bye to Santa!” 

“Bye, Santa,” the girls chirp obligingly, giving him one more hug before the scramble off the big chair and run back to their mum. 

Harry waves to them as they head over to the counter where Louis is standing. He watches for perhaps a beat too long, just so he can watch Louis’ eyes crinkle as he gives the girls enthusiastic high fives. Harry sighs internally, and then turns to greet the next family who have come to meet Santa. 

Niall leads the next group at the front of the queue over to Santa, and Harry lets them have a few moments to chat. When Niall, starts positioning the family to have their photo taken, then it’s Harry’s turn. 

“Hello, friends!” he calls out. “I’m going to take a special photo of you with Santa, okay? I need everyone to give me their best Christmas smiles, do you think you can do that?”

The kids nod enthusiastically, making Harry laugh. 

“Alright, everyone say ‘Rudolph!’” 

“Rudolf!” the kids cheer, and Harry presses the shutter button quickly. 

The next group is a little more difficult. Harry’s own memories of meeting a shopping centre Santa involve several embarrassing photos of himself sitting on Santa’s lap, absolutely bawling his eyes out, and so Harry had been expecting to encounter a lot of children who were reluctant or scared to have their photo taken with Santa. Funnily enough, he’d barely had any criers, but the toddler who’s currently being carried up to see Santa by their mum is definitely letting them all know how they feel about it. 

“This one looks like a case for Tommo,” Niall says, sidling up next to Harry. “If anyone can turn that frown upside down, it’s him.” 

Harry nods, and watches Niall go over to Louis and fetch him. 

“Oh, darling,” Louis says, pulling a funny face at the crying baby. “What’s the matter, then? Are you a bit frightened of my friend, Santa? Or is it my curly friend Harry over there that’s making you cry? I know he’s a bit ridiculous, but he’s quite a nice elf once you get to know him, I promise.” 

“Heyyy,” Harry protests, but Louis ignores him, smiling down at the child, who has already stopped crying, letting out small hiccups instead. 

“That’s better,” Louis says, holding out one finger for the baby to hang onto. “Why don't we go and see Santa, now, hey?” 

He leads baby and mum over to Santa, who has been sitting patiently waiting. They take an absolutely adorable set of pictures, the baby becoming fascinated with Santa’s long white beard, and the mother thanks Louis profusely for his help. 

“Good work, Lou,” Harry says. 

“You too,” Louis says. “Those pictures turned out great. I couldn’t have done it all by my- _elf_ ,” he says, winking at Harry as he walks away. 

❅🎅🏻❅

The next two weeks fly by at Santa’s Winter Wonderland. 

Harry gets to know Louis a little better every day, and he files away each of the little tidbits of knowledge that he collects. 

So far, he’s learned that Louis has a whole football team’s worth of siblings, whom he adores; that Louis’ studying graphic design at uni, and that his dream would be to have his own design firm one day; that Louis drives a cute little blue Clio, which used to belong to his Nan; and that he hates mushrooms on his pizza. 

He’s found that last one out this afternoon, when Louis had invited Harry to join Niall and him on their lads night tonight. 

“It’ll be me and Niall and Liam - you’ll love Liam, he’s great - just a few pints and a few pizzas to celebrate the end of the week,” Louis explains. “You’ll come won’t you? It’ll be fun.” 

Harry was planning to have a night in with a face mask and some chicken parm, if he’s totally honest, but of course he’s not going to turn Louis down, especially when he seems so keen for Harry to be there. 

“Of course,” Harry says. “I’d love to.” 

“Sick,” Louis says. “I can't wait to see what you look like in real clothes, without any bells on them.” 

He walks away before Harry can react. He’s not sure what just happened. Was Louis flirting with him, or was he just making fun of Harry’s outfit? 

“Ho, ho, ho!” Santa calls, breaking Harry out of his thoughts. “Merry Christmas to you all!” 

Niall leads the next family over to him, and Harry focuses on the task in front of him. He’ll overthink this later. 

❅🎅🏻❅

“Pull your-elf together,” Harry says, and then blinks when he realises that he’s apparently making elf puns outside of work now. He’s obviously been getting too into character. 

“It’s just a lads night,” he says to his reflection in the mirror. “Nobody’s going to care what you’re wearing.” 

Having to give himself a pep talk is pathetic, and what’s worse is that it doesn't even make him feel any better. He’s basically upturned his closet, the contents strewn across his bed as he’d tried to pick out an outfit to wear. He’d wanted to look good, but he also hadn’t wanted to look too out there for a casual get together, and he’d found it tricky to find just the right outfit that would say “I’m definitely potential boyfriend material,” just in case Louis is wondering, but wouldn’t say “I’m trying to impress you.” In the end, he’d just ended up in his favourite pair of black jeans and a light blue button up with a tiny pink floral print. He finishes it off with a spritz of cologne, and calls it good enough. 

Louis and Niall are already in the pub when Harry gets there. They wave when they see him walking over, and Niall cheers enthusiastically as Harry sits down, handing him a pint. 

“Harry! Welcome to lad’s night!” 

“Thank you,” Harry says, faux seriously. “I appreciate your kind invitation.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Louis says. “Drink your beer. We’ve put in a pizza order, they should be ready soon. Liam’s running a bit late, but he should be here any minute.” 

“Sounds good,” Harry says. “So, how do you know Liam again?”

“Oh,” Louis says. “Liam’s my - ”

“Liam!” Niall cheers, sloshing his pint a little as he waves at someone over Harry’s shoulder. 

Harry turns to watch him walk over to their table. Liam’s got a buzz cut, and is obviously a frequent gym goer, arm muscles showing even through his knitted sweater. It’s got a kitten in a Santa hat printed on the front, which makes Harry smile. 

Liam greets Louis and Niall with big hugs, sliding in next to Louis at their booth before turning to shake Harry’s hand. 

“Harry, Liam, Liam, Harry,” Niall says. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Liam,” Harry says. 

“Likewise,” says Liam, “Lou’s told me so much about you.” 

“Oh?” 

“Hey,” Louis says loudly. “I think those are our pizzas coming over.” 

The topic is effectively changed when the food arrives, hot and delicious-looking. 

Over dinner, Harry finds out that Liam’s a trainee firefighter, which explains the muscles, and makes Harry feel very inadequate. 

“Liam’s already saved three people from burning houses,” Louis says proudly. “And a cat who was stuck up a tree.” 

“It was only six feet off the ground,” Liam says sheepishly, “it was hardly _stuck_ \- ”

“Nonsense,” Louis says. “You’re a hero, Liam Payne, and I won't hear a word otherwise.” 

Liam rolls his eyes affectionately. Harry’s realising with a sinking feeling that all signs are pointing towards Louis and Liam being in a relationship. Louis had been cut off earlier when he was explaining how they knew each other, but they’d been sitting really close to each other all night, and have been more affectionate than most friends would be. 

The more that Harry watches them interact, the more convinced he becomes that Liam’s Louis’ boyfriend. It would make sense, Harry thinks. Louis deserves someone like Liam, someone who will admire him and someone who could definitely carry Louis out of a burning building if it was needed. 

Harry can't help but feel a bit disappointed. He’d thought that Louis might have been flirting with him a bit, but he was obviously very mistaken. The longer it goes on, the more Harry’s mood goes down, and he eventually gives in, making his excuses to leave. He just wants to go home and wallow, getting it all out of his system so that when he sees Louis again at work on Monday he’ll be able to act normally again. 

Louis looks concerned when Harry says he’s going to go home, but he doesn’t try and stop him. When Harry turns and looks back at the door, Louis’ laughing at something, leaning into Liam’s side. Harry pulls out his phone and calls an Uber, trying to ignore the feeling of his heart breaking in two. 

❅🎅🏻❅

“Are you okay, Harry?” Niall asks. 

“I’m fine,” Harry says. 

“Are you sure there’s nothing wrong? You’ve been a bit off all week.” 

“I’m fine,” Harry insists. “Honestly. Just a little tired, I suppose.” 

“If you’re sure,” Niall says, looking at Harry carefully. “Well, there’s only one more day left of Santa’s Winter Wonderland, anyway, so you’ll be able to get your beauty sleep again soon.” 

Harry nods absently. He’s obviously not been hiding his heartbreak very well, if he’s made Niall worried about him. He’s also trying very hard not to think about the fact that today’s the last day of work here. Even if his romantic feelings aren't requited, Harry’s had such an amazing time working with Louis - and Niall - every day, and he’s really going to miss it. 

They’re quite busy all day, all of the families who’d left it until the last minute to try and visit Santa keeping the queue long for the whole day. The upside of that is that it keeps Harry’s mind off of things, and he barely has time to chat with Louis at all. 

“Let’s take a selfie,” Niall suggests, when they’ve waved off the last family, and Santa has retreated to the “backstage” area. 

“An elf-ie!” they all say in unison. Harry pretends to wipe away a tear. 

“I’m so proud of you all,” he says, “you’ve come so far in your pun appreciation journey.” 

Niall’s already pulled out his phone, and is lining up the perfect shot. “Ready?” he asks. “Everybody say ‘Rudolph!’”

“Rudolph!” Harry cheers obligingly, and Niall takes the photo. 

“Cute,” he proclaims, “I’ll send it to you both.” 

He walks away, tapping at his phone furiously, and Harry and Louis are left alone. 

“So,” Harry says. “Do you have exciting Christmas plans?” 

“I’ll be spending it with my family,” Louis says. “Probably watch some Christmas movies with the girls. Hopefully not _Elf_ , they think they’re hilarious.” 

“That sounds lovely,” Harry says. “Will Liam be joining you?” 

“Liam?” Louis asks, sounding confused. “No, I reckon he’ll be driving over to stay at his own family’s house. Why?” 

“Oh,” Harry says. “I just thought since he’s your boyfriend, he might - ”

“Wait, _what_?” Louis asks. “Why would you think Liam was my boyfriend?” 

“Are you kidding me?” Harry says, feeling his heart stop. “You’re definitely not dating him?” 

“No,” Louis says, looking horrified. “Liam’s like my brother. Ew.” 

“And you’re not dating anybody else?” 

“No.” 

“And you are into guys?”

Louis rolls his eyes. 

“Just making sure!” Harry says. “I’ve obviously been wrong about you before.” 

“I’m very single, and very gay,” Louis says. 

“Oh thank god,” Harry says, letting out a deep breath. “Louis Tomlinson, I think you’re wonderful, and kind, and very pretty, and I would like to take you out on a date.”

“Wow,” Louis says. 

“I had to summon all of my elf-confidence for that,” Harry says. “If you’re going to reject me, please do it gently.” 

“I’m not going to reject you,” Louis says, reaching out and taking Harry’s hand in his. “That was actually pretty endearing, in a strange way.” 

“Oh,” Harry says. “Are you saying yes, then?” 

“I suppose I am. I would love to go on a date with you, Harry Styles.” 

“Sick,” Harry says. “That’s - Cool. Alright.” 

Louis laughs, tipping his head back to smile at the ceiling. 

“Can I kiss you?” he asks, taking a step closer to Harry. 

“Yeah,” Harry says, “please.” 

Louis places one hand on Harry’s cheek, and then bursts out laughing. 

“What?” Harry asks, alarmed. It’s not exactly flattering to have someone laugh in your face when they go to kiss you for the first time. 

“Nothing, nothing,” Louis reassures him. “It’s just, I just realised that we’re both still in our elf costumes. I’d never imagined having a first kiss when I was wearing an outfit like this.” 

Harry giggles, kicking around one jingly shoe for comedic effect. 

“I think it’s perfect,” he says. “Santa’s Winter Workshop is what brought us together. It’s only fitting.” 

“So romantic,” Louis says. “I’m going to kiss you now.” 

Harry barely has time to mentally prepare himself before Louis’ leaning in, properly this time, and presses his lips to Harry’s. 

It’s a perfect first kiss, soft and sweet, and Harry feels like he’s melting into a puddle, and that by the time they’re finished, there’ll only be a pair of stripy tights and an elf hat left of him. 

Louis pulls away to rest his forehead against Harry’s, grinning at him for a moment, before Harry brings them back together again, pressing a few short pecks on Louis’ lips. 

Harry is so happy in this moment, he thinks he’s actually hearing angel bells in his head from how heavenly this is. It’s a lovely thought, until he realises that those bells aren't actually in his head, they’re coming from right beside his right ear, and he snaps his eyes open to see Niall standing next to them, jingling a pair of sleigh bells and looking beside himself with delight. 

“Niall,” Louis says calmly. “Do you mind?” 

“Sorry,” Niall says. “I just couldn’t help my- _elf_!”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed. Please let me know what you think :) 
> 
> Don't forget to check out all the other fics in the fest, and send the authors some love via comments and kudos <3


End file.
